Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to two-wheeled, personal transportation vehicles, and more specifically relates to a self-balancing, board-like, personal transportation vehicle, oftentimes referred to as the Hoverboard™, Solowheel™ and Hovertrax™ devices.
Description of the Prior Art
There exists the well-known personal transportation product referred to as the Segway™ device, which is a two-wheeled vehicle on which a person stands and which is self-balanced. Another product becoming popular is a self-balancing, board-like, personal transportation vehicle commonly referred to by the trademarks Hoverboard™, Hovertrax™ and Solowheel™ device. These devices have often been referred to as a Segway™ without a pole. One such two-wheeled, self-balancing vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,738,278 (Chen), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
One of the problems with such two-wheeled, self-balancing boards is that they are very difficult to ride on or stand up on without falling, especially for those users who have no training. Several weeks of proper training and with the user wearing fully-protected gear are required, as such two-wheeled, self-balancing vehicles are quite unstable and difficult to use, and may result in injury to the user.